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Edited version of private ruling

Authorisation Number: 1011599101011

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Ruling

Subject: Total and permanent invalidity pension

Question.

Advice/Answers

This ruling applies for the following periods:

Year ended 30 June 2008

Year ended 30 June 2009

Year ending 30 June 2010

The scheme commences on:

1 July 2007

Relevant facts and circumstances

You were employed by an employer.

During the 1996-97 income year you sustained injuries at work.

During the 1998-99 income year, as a result of your injuries, you were medically retired from your employment with the employer.

At the time of your medical retirement the employer did not have death and disability provisions for employees. The matter was raised by the union with the employer. After protracted discussions between the employer and the union and on application by the latter, the matter was referred to an Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) for a decision. In 2003 the IRC made an Award.

Under a subclause of the Award, which took effect during the 2002-03 income year, the intentions and commitments of the Award are to:

Under a clause of the Award 'total and permanent incapacity' means:-

A subclause of the Award reads:-

In accordance with a clause of the Award both the employer and employees will contribute to the fund.

In an internal email of the department, it is stated, among other things, that:

In a ministerial letter to your local member of parliament, it was advised that:

In 2004 you applied for an on-duty total and permanent incapacity (TPI) pension, and received from the employer, a retrospective eligible termination payment (ETP), which included a post-June 1994 invalidity component.

From towards the end of the 2003-04 income year onward you have been receiving from the employer a fortnightly on-duty TPI pension based on the formula specified in the Award. Up to 30 June 2007, the employer continued to treat payments of such fortnightly pension as ETPs, part of which was a post-June 1994 invalidity component.

From 1 July 2007 onward, the employer has treated payments of such fortnightly pension as your ordinary income.

This fortnightly pension, payable for life, is calculated in accordance with a formula provided in the Award that takes into account an employee's deemed salary on the employee's last day of service and is indexed. "Deemed salary" refers to an employee's hourly rate of pay multiplied by a specific factor. In a letter from the employer to you it was advised that:

Up until 30 June 2007 this pension was being paid by [the employer] as an Eligible Termination Payment (ETP). Due to changes by the ATO on 1 July 2007, ETPs no longer exist therefore [the employer] are required to tax this pension payment as income.

In a letter from the employer to you, it was advised that:

In a ministerial letter received by you, it was advised that:

In a letter responding to the Tax Office's letter to you, the employer's Director of Human Resources advised, among other things, as follows:

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 subsection 27A(1) [repealed].

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Section 27G [repealed].

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 27H(1).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 27H(4).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 6-5(2).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 82-130(1).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(1)(a).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Sub paragraph 82-130(1)(a)(i).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Sub paragraph 82-130(1)(a)(ii).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(1)(b).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(1)(c).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 82-130(2).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 82-135.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-135(b).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 82-145.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 307-5.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 995-1.

Income Tax Regulations 1997 Regulation 995-1.01

Reasons for decision

Summary

The fortnightly payments of on-duty TPI pension you received from the employer are not superannuation lump sums or superannuation income stream payments. Therefore, they are not superannuation benefits. The payments are ordinary income and are therefore subject to tax at normal rates.

Detailed reasoning

Employment termination payment

From 1 July 2007 the taxation treatment of payments made in consequence of the termination of any employment of a taxpayer has changed. These payments, formerly known as eligible termination payments (ETPs), will now be called employment termination payments. Paragraphs 4.4 and 4.5 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Tax Laws Amendment (Simplified Superannuation) Bill 2006 states:

Where an employment termination payment is made during the life of a taxpayer the payment will be known as a life benefit termination payment under subsection 82-130(2) of the ITAA 1997.

Section 995-1 of the ITAA 1997 states:

Subsection 82-130(1) of the ITAA 1997 states:

Payment is made in consequence of the termination of employment

For a payment to qualify as an employment termination payment, the first condition to be met is that you receive the payment in consequence of the termination of your employment.

The phrase 'in consequence of termination of employment' is not defined in the legislation but the courts have considered the meaning of the words' in consequence of' in relation to ETP, the predecessor of employment termination payments.

Of note are the decisions made by the Full High Court in Reseck v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1975) 49 ALJR 370; (1975) 6 ALR 642; (1975) 5 ATR 538; (1975) 75 ATC 4213; (1975) 133 CLR 45 (Reseck) and the Full Federal Court in McIntosh v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1979) 25 ALR 557; (1979) 10 ATR 13; (1979) 45 FLR 279; (1979) 79 ATC 4325 (McIntosh).

Suffice it to say that both Courts' views were that for a payment to be made in consequence of the termination of employment the payment had to follow on as a result or effect of the termination of employment. Additionally, while it is not necessary to show that termination of employment is the sole or dominant cause, a temporal sequence alone would not be sufficient.

The Commissioner in Taxation Ruling TR 2003/13 considered the phrase in consequence of as interpreted by the Courts. In paragraph 5 of TR 2003/13 the Commissioner states:

Thus if a payment follows as an effect or a result of the termination of employment, the payment will be made in consequence of the termination of employment and may be an employment termination payment unless it:

The Award came into effect in 2003. By an agreement between the employer and the union, the terms of the Award apply retrospectively to a specified month during the 1996-97 income year for eligible permanent and retained employees who were injured before the Award commenced. As your injury occurred in 1997, pursuant to that agreement the employer has provided you with an on-duty TPI pension similar to that available to employees eligible under the Award, retrospective to the time of your injury.

In other words, although your on-duty TPI pension is calculated in accordance with the formula provided in the Award, it has been paid to you by the employer, not by the superannuation fund established under the Award.

No payment of the on-duty TPI pension would have been made to you had you not been injured and had your employment not been terminated in consequence thereof. The termination of employment and payment of the on-duty TPI pension are all intertwined and connected. If not for the termination of employment, the issue of paying the on-duty TPI pension would not have arisen. In other words, payment of the on-duty TPI pension follows as an effect or result of the termination. It is, therefore, accepted that the payments of the on-duty TPI pension you have been receiving were made in consequence of the termination of your employment due to your injury. The first requirement under subparagraph 82-130(1)(a)(i) of the ITAA 1997 has, therefore, been satisfied.

Another condition for a payment to be an employment termination payment under subsection 82-130(1) of the ITAA 1997 is that it is not a payment mentioned in section 82-135. Section 82-135 provides that certain payments are not employment termination payments, including:

Relevant to your case is whether the payments of on-duty TPI pension your have been receiving since 1 July 2007 represent payments of superannuation benefit or payments of pension or annuity.

Superannuation Benefit

Section 307-5 of the ITAA 1997 provides a table that list the types of payments that are superannuation benefits. Of relevance are items 1 and 8 of the table:

Item

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

 

Superannuation benefit type

Superannuation member benefit

Superannuation death benefit

1

superannuation fund payment

A payment to you from a *superannuation fund because you are a fund member.

A payment to you from a superannuation fund, after another person's death, because the other person was a fund member.

8

superannuation annuity payment

A payment to you:

(a) from a *superannuation annuity; or

(b) arising from the commutation of a superannuation annuity;

because you are the annuitant.

A payment to you:

(a) from a superannuation annuity; or

(b) arising from the commutation of a superannuation annuity;

because of the death of the annuitant.

A superannuation benefit that is a superannuation fund payment can be either a superannuation income stream or a superannuation lump sum (sections 307-65 and 307-70 of the ITAA 1997).

It is clear that the income stream payments received by you do not represent superannuation fund payments as the payments were not made from a superannuation fund but were made by the employer.

That then leaves item 8 of the table in section 307-5 of the ITAA 1997. That is, do the income stream payments represent superannuation annuity payments (and, hence, a superannuation benefit)?

Section 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997 defines a superannuation annuity as having the meaning given by the regulations.

Regulation 995-1.01 of the Income Tax Regulations 1997 defines superannuation annuity as follows:

In your case you are not receiving an income stream that is issued by a life insurance company or registered organisation. The income stream is being paid by the employer. Therefore, the income stream payments do not represent superannuation annuity payments.

Consequently, the income stream payments described as on-duty TPI pension are not superannuation benefits.

However, paragraph 82-135(b) of the ITAA 1997 excludes not only pensions and annuities that are superannuation benefits but also pensions and annuities that are not superannuation benefits - that is, pensions and annuities at common law.

Therefore, it is now necessary to examine whether the income stream payments are payments of a pension or annuity at common law.

Pension or annuity at common law

The terms 'pension' is not defined in either the ITAA 1997 or the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). It is therefore necessary to look for its meaning at common law.

In Tubemakers of Australia Ltd v. Commissioner of Taxation (Cth) (1993) 25 ATR 183; (1993) 93 ATC 4207 Justice Hill of the Federal Court (at ATC 4212) made the following observations on what 'pension' means:

What these dictionary definitions show is that it is a necessary characteristic of a pension that it be periodical.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), in Case [1999] AATA 1026 (1999) 43 ATR 1282; (1999) 2000 ATC 101, considered whether instalments paid to the Applicant on his retirement from a law firm that represented his share of the value given to certain work in progress at the time of a previous merger with two other law firms to form the current law firm was his assessable income. Senior Member Block concluded at ATC 129:

From the aforementioned cases, it can be seen that the word 'pension' embraces a fixed periodical payment made by a government in consideration of a person's past services, injury or loss or of the relinquishment of rights, claims, or emoluments of that person and that 'pension' and 'annuity' are inter-changeable words to denote payments with such characteristics. Further, it is clear that it is not necessary for a pension to be paid by a superannuation fund in order for it to be characterised as a pension.

Given that the on-duty TPI pension you have been receiving is of a periodical nature and is paid to you on account of the injury you suffered in the course of your employment, it is a pension at common law.

The word 'annuity' is defined in subsection 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997 as follows:

It is also defined in subsection 27H(4) of the ITAA 1936 as follows:

The definition under subsection 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997 is an 'inclusive' definition. It does not, however, exclude an annuity at common law. Similarly, the definition under subsection 27H(4) of the ITAA 1936 does not exclude an annuity at common law. Unfortunately, neither definition actually defines what an annuity at common law is. Consequently, it is necessary to seek guidance from judicial authorities.

Legal dictionaries have an assortment of definitions which generally lead to that given by Baron Watson in Foley v. Fletcher (1858) 3 H and N 769; (1858) 157 ER 678. That definition is, as cited with approval by Lord Hanworth, M.R. in Perrin v. Dickson [1930] 1 KB 107 at page 116:

Another quality or characteristic of an annuity is that it is of a sum certain. When considering this aspect in Federal Commissioner of Taxation v. Knight (1983) 67 FLR 396; (1983) 14 ATR 1; (1983) 83 ATC 4096 (at 83 ATC 4106; 14 ATR 12-13), Justice Kelly of the Supreme Court of Western Australia referred to the following words of Justice Barton of the High Court in Deputy Federal Commissioner of Land Tax, Sydney v. Hindmarsh (1912) 14 CLR 334; (1912) 18 ALR 235, at 14 CLR 338:

Justice Kelly went on to say in respect of the matter before him:

In Egerton-Warburton v. Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (Cth) (1934) 51 CLR 568; (1934) 8 ALJ 233; (1934) 3 ATD 40; [1934] ALR 380; [1934] HCA 40, a father sold certain farmland to his two sons in consideration of an annuity of £1,200 per annum to be paid by the sons to himself until his death. On his death an annuity of £1,000 per annum was then to be paid to his widow and a final payment on both their deaths of £10,000 to his three daughters. The High Court unanimously held the payments to the father were not instalments of a purchase price but were income and an annuity.

The reasoning of the court stressed the fact that there was no 'fixed gross sum'. In fact, the absence of anything which could be regarded as a purchase price meant that there was no deduction of a proportion of the purchase price from the annuity payment in accordance with the provision whose current equivalent is section 27H of the ITAA 1936.

One of the main difficulties experienced in connection with annuities is the determination in some cases of whether annual payments are annuities and in the nature of income, or are instalments of capital which, of course, are not assessable. The general principle is that where annual payments are made in liquidation of a principal sum, they do not constitute annuities. If, on the other hand, there is no fixed sum or debt being liquidated, the annual payments are in the nature of annuities (Chadwick v. Pearl Life Assurance Co (1905) 2 KB 507).

From the cases quoted above it can be seen that, at common law, an annuity is a series of payments payable to a recipient for life or for a fixed term of years with certainty in the sum payable.

As the on-duty TPI pension being paid to you by the employer is a series of payments to you for life where the amount of each payment is ascertainable by reference to the formula specified in the Award, it is therefore an annuity at common law. Further, the payments do not represent instalments of capital as there is no fixed principal sum that is being liquidated - another reason why the payments could not be construed as being a series of employment termination payments.

The employer has stated that there is no agreement or contract in writing which provides for the payments described as on-duty TPI pension and that it was based on an undertaking by the employer directed towards the union. However, it is clear that the intention of both parties was that the undertaking would be binding on the employer. This would negate the contention that the payments are ex gratia in nature.

Since your on-duty TPI pension is either a 'pension' or an 'annuity' within their ordinary meaning at common law, it is a payment mentioned in section 82-135 of the ITAA 1997 and is, therefore, not an employment termination payment under paragraph 82-130(1)(c).

Ordinary income

As your on-duty TPI pension is not an employment termination payment or a superannuation benefit, it cannot be taxed concessionally as such. Consideration of how it should be taxed has to be given to some other relevant provisions in the ITAA 1997 and ITAA 1936.

Subsection 6-10(2) of the ITAA 1997 states that:-

Within the list of statutory income under section 10-5 of the ITAA 1997 are 'annuities', to which section 27H of the ITAA 1936 applies.

Subsection 27H(1) of the ITAA 1936 states that:-

On the basis that your on-duty TPI pension is an annuity, it is assessable under section 27H.

On the other hand, subsection 6-5(2) of the ITAA 1997 provides that the assessable income of an Australian resident includes income according to ordinary concepts (ordinary income) derived directly or indirectly from all sources, whether in or out of Australia, during the income year.

Based on case law, it can be said that ordinary income generally includes receipts that:

Compensation or similar payments which substitute income have been held by the courts to be income according to ordinary concepts (Commission of Taxation v. Inkster (1989) 24 FCR 53; (1989) 89 ALR 137; (1989) 20 ATR 1516; (1989) 89 ATC 5142 and Tinkler v. Commissioner of Taxation (Cth) (1979) 40 FLR 116; (1979) 29 ALR 663; (1979) 10 ATR 411; (1979) 79 ATC 4641).

Therefore, periodic payments received following a death or disability that replaces lost earnings are generally regarded as assessable income, irrespective of what they may be called.

In Federal Commissioner of Taxation v. Dixon (1952) 86 CLR 540; (1952) 26 ALJ 505; (1952) 10 ATD 82; [1953] ALR 17; [1952] HCA 65, weekly payments to a soldier from his former employer to make up the difference between his civil and military pay has been held to be income according to ordinary concepts. As were regular subsidies paid by a bank to selected former employees in order to counter the eroding effects of inflation on the real value of their pensions in Commissioner of Taxation v. Blake [1984] 2 Qd R 303; (1984) 75 FLR 315; (1984) 15 ATR 1006; (1984) 84 ATC 4661.

In determining whether the on-duty TPI pension you have been receiving from the employer since 1 July 2007 is assessable as your ordinary income, consideration has to be given to the purpose of the payments. One of the intentions under the Award is to provide benefits to an injured employee.

The Award provides that pension be paid to an employee if the employee sustained an on-duty injury and has as a result suffered total and permanent incapacity.

Although the fortnightly payments you have been receiving are called an 'on-duty TPI pension', for income tax assessment purposes it is necessary to consider their nature and character in order to determine whether they are assessable as ordinary income.

In determining the fortnightly amount you receive, reference is made under the Award to your deemed salary on your last day of service with the employer. This indicates that the fortnightly amount you receive is in the nature of compensation for loss of income and/or loss of income support based on your last deemed salary.

As compensation or similar payment that substitute income have been held to be income according to ordinary concepts, your on-duty TPI pension is therefore assessable as ordinary income under subsection 6-5(2) of the ITAA 1997.

As your on-duty TPI pension is assessable under subsection 6-5(2) of the ITAA 1997 as ordinary income, it will not be assessed under section 27H of the ITAA 1936.


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